Skyler glanced at Zack and nodded. But even after the group left, the opened gate floating in mid-air did not disappear.
The crowd that had been watching everything the entire time finally snapped out of their daze. A powerful Light suddenly shouted toward the gate.
"The gate on this level remains open for hours after being activated! Everyone from Eldoria, our ship is the nearest! Quickly, enter while you still can before it disappears!"
Hearing the Light’s words, many people immediately rushed toward the gate.
After all, what he said was correct.
The challenge of this level was simply too difficult. For most people, even leaving a scratch on the dragon’s body was an impossible task. Because of this, whenever someone successfully cleared the challenge, the gate to the next level remained open for an extended period of time, allowing more challengers to pass through instead of forcing everyone to defeat the dragon themselves.
This rule existed precisely because the difficulty of the 30th level challenge was beyond what most people could handle.
Regardless, it was a completely different matter if someone who had accepted the dragon’s challenge was tricked early on into accepting that only ’they’ among their team would pass, regardless of who defeated it. Those foolish, tricked people were directly sent to the next level on the spot, alone by the dragon, without the gate appearing.
Near the massive gate floating above the ocean, amidst the chaotic scene, as the crowd pushed and shoved each other to enter, a relatively young-looking individual from the beast race suddenly noticed a pair of fluffy white ears among the chaos.
He paused for a split second and blinked, only to be smacked by his companion.
"Hurry up! We’ve been stuck on this level for years! It’s finally our chance to climb up and leave here! What are you dazing off for?"
The person who was smacked rubbed his head as he hurried toward the gate, muttering in an aggrieved voice.
"I just saw a little white rabbit... so I was surprised. What are you hitting me for?"
***
Unaware of the events unfolding on the 30th level, Skyler and the others successfully arrived at the 31st level of the Battle Royal.
The scenery around them was a barren wasteland, dotted with sparse trees and countless sandcastles scattered in every direction.
Skyler’s gaze lingered on the scythe in his hand. The weapon seemed reluctant to part with him, with traces of energy still flickering along its dark blade. With a quiet sigh, he stored it back in his storage ring.
For a brief moment, he stared at the empty space in front of him before calling out.
"505."
A familiar screen flashed before him.
("Host?")
Skyler leaned back slightly and asked.
"How many days are left in the one-month period I set at the start?"
505 responding immediately.
("According to 505, nine days.")
The answer made Skyler fall silent.
Nine days.
Far too little.
His gaze swept across everyone as he thought deeply. Reaching the 52nd level wasn’t the problem. With their current strength, clearing the challenges up to that point was entirely possible.
The real issue was time.
Even moving at their current pace, there was no guarantee they would reach the 52nd level within the remaining nine days. And reaching it was only half of the goal. After that, everyone still needed to break through and enter the Divine rank, just as he had proclaimed.
Not to mention, he could clearly see the exhaustion on everyone’s faces. They had been fighting continuously without any real rest since leaving the Realm of Stillness. Their bodies might be powerful enough to keep going, but their minds and spirits would gradually reach their limits.
Skyler narrowed his eyes.
Time was running out.
At this rate, following the original plan was too risky.
He would have to find another way.
Riruru grabbed his arm when she saw him frowning. She was still in her human form.
Feeling her touch, Skyler’s expression softened. He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, silently reassuring her.
Nearby, Yuris, Charles, and Isaac had sat down atop a broken staircase leading to the ruins of a sandcastle on the far left. They were still reeling from the power Skyler had displayed on the 30th level.
He had told them they needed to fight the half-water dragon together, but in the end, was that really necessary?
With the power he had shown, he could have dealt with the dragon alone.
Why was Skyler so strong?
The thought unconsciously surfaced in their minds once again. Perhaps it was because he was part dragon.
Only Austin and Zack were paying close attention to Skyler. After drying his wet hair with a Light spell, Austin glanced at Zack.
"What do you think he’s thinking?"
Zack thought for a moment before responding with a shrug.
"He’s probably thinking about the goal he set at the start. If I’m being honest, I don’t think we have much time left. Reaching the 52nd level of the Battle Royal with our current strength is possible, but doing so within the time limit he set is another matter entirely."
His gaze drifted toward Skyler.
"Knowing him, he’s probably already trying to come up with a way to speed things up."
Austin sat down on a nearby rock, using another Light spell to dry his clothes.
"Right. He set a one-month time limit."
Zack glanced back at him.
"Help me dry my clothes as well."
Austin gave him a disdainful look but still waved, casting the same Light spell on him.
At that moment, Skyler, who was standing a short distance away, suddenly closed his eyes.
He recalled the contents of the novel and carefully went through the entire story in his mind once again, searching for anything that could help with his current problem.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much.
The novel had mostly followed Max’s journey, only occasionally highlighting the experiences and pasts of his teammates. As for the Battle Royal, they had cleared it one level at a time, following the normal path without any shortcuts or special methods. Indeed, Max had found a way to go back to the previous levels of the Battle Royal in the story, but that was it.